Discipleship Point and Prayer
Matthew 4:19
Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
~ Jesus
Pondering Point
Pulled from Putman and Harrington’s DiscipleShift book, the following definition of a disciple is drawn from Matthew 4:19 above and broken into three parts: It is a great reminder that when we give, it is in relationship to Jesus, giving from a heart that is being changed and re-prioritized by Jesus. When we give, we do so as part of the mission of Jesus help make disciples.
Head: Jesus’ Invitation into Relationship with Him
Come follow Me: To “follow” Jesus means to know Him and come under His authority and direction. We call Him Savior and Lord; As Savior, He delivers us from sin, death, and the devil; as Lord, He has ownership of our lives, and we are to submit to His leadership, denying ourselves to do so (Luke 9:23).
Luke 9:23
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Heart: Being Changed by Jesus
As stated in Matthew 4:19, "And I will make you".
Using His Word, Spirit, and Body (other believers), Jesus brings change into the lives of His disciples.
The result will be altered attitudes and shifting priorities. This happens as you spend time in relationship with Jesus in prayer, meditation, bible study, and with His people in small group, worship, and fellowship.
Hands: Joining Jesus on His Mission
As stated in Matthew 4:19, "Fishers of men".
In response to Jesus’ call, we are to join on His mission to the world – fishing for men, or as Jesus says in Luke, “to seek and save what was lost” (19:10).
We are committed to His agenda in life even above our own, serving at His pleasure with whatever time, talents and resources He puts at our disposal.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to give with a compassionate and generous heart that appreciates all that You have done for me. Continue to re-prioritize my heart as You see fit, and open my eyes to the harvest fields around me so that I can effectively join you in Your mission. Amen.
Micro-Meditation Scripture
Psalm 95:7-11
7b Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, they are a people whose hearts go astray, they have not known my ways
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
Micro-Meditation
Teaching or Command of God
Hebrews 4:14
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
2 Corinthians 5:17
[There remains] a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Micro-Meditation
Pondering Point
This Psalm’s warning is revisited and reapplied in the New Testament with a call to see that true rest comes from God through Jesus (see Hebrews 3:7-4:13).
Hebrews 3:7 - 4:13
A Rest for the People of God
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[a] 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”
although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God[b] would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Footnotes
[a] Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts it did not meet with faith in the hearers
[b] Hebrews 4:8 Greek he
Micro-Group Moment:
Learning about my place in the
mission and ministry of Hope Lutheran Church (or your own local church)
Values of Hope Lutheran Church (Why do we do what we do?)
We value living in the Word, under the Spirit, with all people, and as disciples of Jesus;
Part IV: Living as Disciples of Jesus: The definition of the word disciple is a “follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher.”
Luke 6:40 tells us that “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
We at Hope desire to be like Jesus, to follow Him, be transformed by Him, and join Him on His mission. To do that, we must become His disciples as He has called us to do in Matthew 4:19 – “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Further to that call, we have also been tasked with making other disciples as is seen in Matthew 28 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have command you.”
While we know that being disciples of Jesus comes with a price in that we must be willing to deny ourselves and pick up our crosses daily, it also comes with a promise as is seen in John 12:26 – “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
My brothers and sisters in Christ, following Jesus and living as His disciples is not going to be easy for the “struggle [we will face] is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Prayer
To that end, join us in praying that we “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2).